TOA
PAYOH VETS PTE LTD toapayohvets.com Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8,
01-1477, Singapore 319074. Tel:
+65 6254-3326, 9668-6468,
9664-0404.
judy@toapayohvets.com |
ENTROPION IN THE SHIH TZU - 1 CASE STUDY Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS Entropion in the Chinese Shar Pei puppy cases were operated in: 10 April, 2004. Update: 20 February, 2020 |
Case 1. The Shar-pei sleeps all the time |
Case 2. Entropion in the Chinese Shar-Pei |
Case 3. Entropion in the Shih Tzu |
|
"The Shar-pei puppy sleeps
all day," said a pet owner who saw the puppy in my surgery. "Is this the
same one from the pet shop?" I asked. She had visited this pet shop
frequently and bought her puppy from this shop. This pet shop has such a
wide variety of puppies and it was a pleasure for pet lovers to visit it
as a variety of breeds could be seen and hence there were choices of which
puppy to buy. Tips for pet shop owners. This was a strange case because the Shar-pei in the pet shop I visited had many interested prospective buyers but no closing when they saw the Shar-pei puppies being "sleepy" all the time. According to the owner, his vet had told him that the puppies were suffering from conjunctivitis and therefore eye drops would do. But the puppy eyes still could not open as the puppies grew bigger. In this case, the puppies were suffering from entropion (an inward rolling of the eye lids) and therefore, eye drops would not be effective. A second or third veterinarian's opinion may be necessary for eye conditions that do not resolve in one month's time. Preferably less time than that. |
|
The pet shop owner knew what his puppies were suffering from. Entropion - a rolling in of the upper and lower eye-lids. Every day, the Shar-pei would have yellowish eye discharge, squint and rub their eyes. The cornea had big ulcers. These were 8 weeks old, healthy and eating well. They were vaccinated two days ago and had just been handed to the pet shop. He phoned me to get the pups operated. I was not keen to do so. These pups might die under the operating table as they were young. The recommendation for anaesthesia of puppies is after 12 weeks old when they are stronger. Should I operate or wait? I advised waiting. Yet, every week meant pain for the puppies and the loss of a premium in their selling price. The older the puppy, the lower the sales revenue. There are buyers. Yet, the pet shop owner cannot sell them when they have entropion as his reputation was very important. These puppies would need surgery and surgeries would be expensive for the buyer. It would cost around $400 or maybe less or more, depending on which veterinary surgeon you go to. So, what should be the veterinary surgeon do for this pet shop owner and the suffering blepharospasm (eye muscles contracted) Chinese Shar-Pei? For the pet shop owner, time is of the essence as puppies grow up fast and depreciate. In this case, if the puppies were operated early, they could command a premium price as Shar Peis are rarely available for sale in Singapore. I
happened to be at the pet shop vaccinating the puppies. "Why don't you get
the Shar-pei treated by the vet?" I asked the pet shop assistant. "It
needed surgery to remove the excessive in-rolling eyelids. Nobody would
buy this Shar-pei puppy." This Shar-pei had grown up to 6 months old
and I felt sorry for him. He should be with a family rather than be in a
cage. Later, I phoned the pet shop owner. He said he had consulted a
veterinarian and thought that the Shar-pei had eye infections.
So he applied eye ointment religiously. "Just flush the eyes with water," I recommended. It was easier said then done. So, the eyes were a bit weepy. In any case, the Shar peis could see much better and should be able to find good owners and I hope, kind owners and a good home. Electro-surgery is
very useful in entropion surgery. Pet shop operators will look for the
cheapest vet in town. Unfortunately, I was priced out by a younger
vet in 2008. Her prices were very low. A service provider must remain
affordable or lose the business of big pet shops and dog breeders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The pet shop owner sold the
Shar Pei puppies soon after my entropion surgeries as they no longer had
"sleepy" eyes. |
|
On Feb 2, 2010, a
Filipino dog owner informed me that he had read about my entropion surgery
about a breed (he could not remember) in my website. The website was about
entropion surgery in the Chinese Shar-pei (shown above). Some months ago, I had advised entropion surgery for his Shih Tzu as the puppy has tearing eyes since young. The Shih Tzu has ingrowing eyelids at the medial canthus and entropion surgery and facial fold excision should resolve the problem of epiphora forever. I have taken a picture to review the case. This Shih Tzu has medial entropion and ectopic cilia on both eyes, like mirror images. I will be doing entropion surgery in 3 days' time. After the young owner had told me about my articles, I searched my webpages and found the 3 webpages he was reading. They were written 6 years ago! How time had flown by. In 2020, dog owners in Singapore are very sophisticated nowadays. They do extensive research about medical conditions prior to committing their dog to entropion surgery. |
Blog: May 2013. The Chow Chow has entropion |
Blog: Sep 2014. A Chow Chow had entropion |
Blog: Jun 2011. Sharpei websites |
Blog: Feb 2013. A cat has entropion |
Blog: Apr 2013. a rabbit has entropion |
|